22 



N. H. Agricultural Experiment Station [Bulletin 302 



tire farm business which will yield the greatest continuous profit to him 

 as the operator. 



He should make the most economical use of available resources in- 

 cluding: the amount and quality of non-tillable pasture land in rela- 

 tion to crop land, and the convenience of these pastures ; the amount 

 and quality of roughage and of by-products such as skim milk which 

 might otherwise be wasted ; the available labor supply for milking ; the 

 amount and kind of building space ; and seasonal competition for land 

 and labor especially in regions where cash crops and other livestock 



Table 14. Relation between ))iethods of rc2)lacement and breeding troubles. 



Per cent of 

 herd raised 



Number 



of 



farms 



Number of 

 cows at 



beginning 

 of year* 



Cows bred 

 more than 



once as 

 per cent of 

 inventory 



Cows that 



failed to 



breed as 



per cent of 



inventory 



Premature 

 births as 



per cent of 

 inventory 



All herds 



200 



3,366 



19.8 



3.6 



5.2 



* Assumed to most nearly represent the total number of cows bred or 

 freshened during the year. 



enterprises are adapted. Fewer cows and more cash crops frequently 

 pay better than more cows and fewer cash crops. 



Relative values and costs must also be considered. The costs of rais- 

 ing heifers are less variable over a period of years than the price of 

 cows. When the price of cows is relatively high, the advantage of rais- 

 ing heifers over purchasing cows becomes greater, and farmers raise 

 more heifers. When cows are relatively cheap, the price is often less 

 than the cost of raising heifers, and farmers raise too few. All this 

 results in periods of over- and under-production called cycles. A peak 

 in the purchasing price of cows occurs about every 14 to 16 years (Fig- 

 ure 1). The current price of cows is not so important as the proba- 

 ble price at the time a calf reaches productive age. A farmer's de- 

 cision as to replacement policies is too frequently based on current cow 

 prices. Greater consideration should be given to the probable price 

 when a calf reaches maturity and how the organization of the farm 

 business can be improved. 



Because of transportation costs the farm price of milk becomes less 

 as the distance increases from consuming centers. Farmers can keep 

 a cow on about the same amount of feed that is comsumed by two average 

 heifers. A farmer who consistently raises replacements may keep fewer 

 cows than he ordinarily would because heifers consume a part of the 

 available roughage, and he thereby reduces his cash income from milk. 

 The relative amount by whicli he reduces his cash income depends on 

 the unit farm i)rice of milk. Thus, the more remote a farmer is from 



